Venice trash island to become theme park

30/10/2013

Sacca San Biagio project will highlight city history

Venice, October 30 - Amusement-park-ride
manufacturer Zamperla on Wednesday presented an 80-million-euro
project to salvage Venice's Sacca San Biagio, an artificial
island made of trash landfill and incinerator ash that has been
shut down for the past 30 years.
The project would turn the island into what promoters said
would be a sustainable ''amusement garden'', powered with
renewable energy, and divided into three spaces retelling the
history and traditions of Venice, from the 1571 Battle of
Lepanto in an artificial basin to the Carnival.
There will be giant 3D screens, a theater, children's play
areas, and a walking trail around the island, open to the public
free of charge.
''Of course San Biagio must be salvaged, but it must be
done with respect for this city. Venice is not a theme park, and
everyone must keep that firmly in mind'', Mayor Giorgio Orsoni
told ANSA.
''I have been informed of the project and it raises some
concerns, mostly because I believe it includes a gigantic Ferris
wheel''.